Now that summer is here, I’m finding myself with more and more fresh, organic produce in the house. That would normally sound like a major “plus” until a few pieces of fruit prematurely ripen and I find myself with some unwelcomed guests in my kitchen… you know what I’m talking about – pesky fruit flies.
Well, not long ago, I accidentally found a fantastic solution to the problem thanks to a few sips of unconsumed wine left in a glass overnight. It seems those little pests happen to love wine as much as I do!
By morning three of those buggers had actually immersed themselves in the leftover wine and solved the problem themselves. A little extra research and experimenting and I found a solution worth sharing, and this is all it takes:
- Put just a half-inch of red wine into any glass, cover it tightly with a small piece of plastic wrap (yes, I know… plastic wrap {bleh!} but desperate times call for desperate measures!), poke some very small holes in the plastic wrap and well… that’s it! Just leave the glass in your kitchen near the problem area and the fruit fries will make their way in, but NOT make their way out!
Red wine seems to be the best because it is the most aromatic and attracts them more than white wine. Fruit flies love fermented red grapes!… just like me! (oh yea, I mentioned that, didn’t I?)
So the next time they attack your kitchen and your fresh fruit, use it as an excuse to pop the cork and share a little… I promise, it truly only needs to be a “little!”
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Great tip! My compost used to attract a lot of nats, so I wish I knew this back then. I’ve moved places since, and now actually have my compost in a small white bin with a just swing lid… and funnily enough, no bugs yet.
I have seen bugs get stuck in wine before too, but never put 2 and 2 together and thought to actually use wine as a bug catcher. Good stuff.
.-= dinesh´s last blog ..Greenopolis – A Fairytale Land For Green Gurus =-.
I hate to share my wine with a fly
but I am going to have to try this! thanks for the great tip!
This is the best!! I cannot stand those darn little things either – GAH! Thanks for the tip
Guess that means I have to share my Merlot…..booo. BUT, all for a good cause LOL!
.-= smilinggreenmom´s last blog ..The Mystery behind “Hypo-allergenic” =-.
dinesh – glad you like the tip… it really works!
but like I said… just a little!
faith – I don’t like to share it either
smilinggreenmom – oohhh, they love Merlot but they don’t drink much!
I too don’t wish to share wine with a pest. Beer, soda or what have you, in a bottle also works. Being a tad slow on party clean up you find many of them floating in the left over liquid in bottles. Standard fly paper also works on those little dudes. Not a “green” idea unless you make your own, might look up how sometime. If you use comercaily made fly paper or bump into it cooking oil is your first step to get it off. Seems the oil defeats the stick stuff then wash off the oil as you would normally.
Great idea! But since my husband and I don’t drink wine, I mix about a half inch of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a small dish. You’ll be surprised how many fruit flies you’ll catch!
As a quick follow – I started using this method a week ago and have since probably caught 7 or 8 flies that have been hanging around because of my compost can. Thanks again for the tip!
.-= dinesh´s last blog ..Plastic Containers and Lids – 6 Reasons to Go Compostable =-.
We just got some of these from bananas! I don’t remember ever getting fruit flies in my parents home, why does it happen now? Anyway, eat the banana, save the peel and use it as a trap. Use an old sour cream container by putting the peel inside, put plastic wrap on the top and poke a few holes. The flies are attracted by the peel and will go through the holes to get to it. Fruit flies live only 3 days, so be sure to discard the container within the 3 days so the eggs do not hatch. You should get rid of the fruit flies real fast like this. If some are still hanging around, make another trap. They are also drawn to apple vinegar.
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